Heart of Darkness

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novella over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. How is Kurtz characterized by others’ reactions to him?

• Make a claim about how other characters’ reactions to Kurtz show the reader something important about what kind of person Kurtz is. (topic sentence)
• Give specific examples of how three different characters react to Kurtz and explain what their reactions show about Kurtz. (development/support)
• Sum up how the characterization of Kurtz relates to the novella’s overall meaning. (concluding sentence or sentences)

2. What is the symbolic significance of the river in Heart of Darkness?

• Make a claim about the symbolic meaning of the river. (topic sentence)
• Show how diction, imagery, and details support your topic sentence’s claim. (development/support)
• Sum up how the symbolism of the river supports the novella’s overall meaning.  (concluding sentence or sentences)

3. How does Conrad use light and dark symbolically in Heart of Darkness?

• Make a claim about what light stands for versus what darkness stands for. (topic sentence)
• Show how specific details, diction, and images of light support your thesis. (development/support)
• Sum up how the symbolism of light and dark supports the novella’s overall meaning. (concluding sentence or sentences)

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. When Marlow arrives at the first station, he calls it “the gloomy circle of some Inferno.” This allusion to Dante’s Inferno is developed further in his progress from station to station as he ventures deeper into the Congo. Write an essay that identifies and explains the allusion, traces its development throughout the novella, and makes and defends a claim about the allusion’s significance to the theme of Heart of Darkness.

2. Compare and contrast Marlow’s portrayals of the unnamed African woman and Kurtz’s “Intended.” Offer a thesis statement that makes a tenable claim about Marlow’s attitudes toward women, and then compare and contrast the language and details used to develop these two key figures as support for your thesis.

3. Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about how the frame narrative is used to convey something figurative about Marlow’s journey. Marlow’s literal journey is into the Congo, to the Inner Station, and back. What non-literal journey has he been on, and how does the reader’s knowledge of him from the frame narrative help convey this other kind of journey?